Football

There's no escaping the fact. Alabama's legendary athletic reputation mainly centers around one sport: football. It's easy to see why. The state of Alabama has witnessed some of the best football this country has ever seen, at both the high school and college levels. Whether it was Paul "Bear" Bryant's legendary Crimson Tide teams or Auburn's Bo Jackson and his unforgettable Heisman run, the football legacy of our state is overwhelming. The legends span past Bryant and Jackson, to famed coaches like Shug Jordan, Gene Stallings, Pat Dye and Bobby Bowden, and on to legendary players like Joe Namath, John Stallworth, Bart Starr, John Hannah, Ozzie Newsome, Ken Stabler, Pat Sullivan, Derrick Thomas, Kevin Greene, Shaun Alexander and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

Scour the high school ranks and you'll see much of the same. Many high school athletes go on to play college ball at Alabama or Auburn. And many of them don't stop there. Auburn and Alabama have each had exactly 99 players drafted into the NFL since 1982. That kind of success makes for some great football. It also makes for one of the nation's premier rivalry games, the annual Auburn-Alabama showdown known simply as the "Iron Bowl." Every year the game draws millions of viewers around the country. 2007 marked one of the biggest Iron Bowl matchups in years, with Auburn's Tommy Tuberville going up against newly hired Alabama coach Nick Saban.

If you're a fan of the pigskin, Alabama is about as football-rich as it gets. In the college ranks, Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium (92,000) and Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,000) are among the largest football stadiums in the country and host exciting SEC football action every fall. Also, every year Alabama hosts college football's biggest all-star game, the Senior Bowl. Held in Mobile, the Senior Bowl draws more NFL scouts and coaches than any other event of its kind. Other yearly events held in-state include the Turkey Day Classic, played at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, the SWAC Football Championship and the Magic City Classic, both played at Legion Field in Birmingham. The Magic City Classic, which pits the Alabama State University Hornets of Montgomery against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs of Huntsville, topped the list of most attended black college football games in the country during 2007.

True students of the game can visit the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, or the massive football display at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Whatever team you root for at whatever level you prefer, football in Alabama is a truly special experience.